Will You?
by JugBug24
Summary: This is about two (or so) years in the future, everyone has just graduated from high school and the uncertainty of the future is before them.
1. Chapter 1

Three months ago today we had gotten into my dad's truck and headed out of town. We had taken the last summer vacation before college and traveled the US and even parts of Canada. We intentionally cut off our contact with everyone back home and tried to do our best to just enjoy the time with each other. We both knew it wouldn't be long before we went to college. Somehow, by a divine miracle, we'd made it into the same Journalism program at the same school. We were different people now, then back in May when we left Riverdale.

Rounding the corner that went into the outskirts of town we could see the charred remains of Thornhill had been cleared and finally something new was being built in its place. It had been two years since Cheryl Blossom had burnt the family home in an act of suicidal desperation. As we slowly passed we looked at each other surprised that someone was dumb enough to rebuild on land that was so obviously cursed.

Soon we passed the train station, gone through the south side of town and ended up at Pop's. It hadn't changed, though I wasn't sure why I thought it might have. Pop's had looked exactly the same my entire life. Through the diner windows I could see Archie's face when he saw the truck pull up. I could hear Betty take a nervous breath next to me and started taking the ring I'd given her off of her finger.

"Don't take it off, Betts." I said confused.

"I don't want to tell them in Pop's parking lot. We'll tell them soon." She finished just as Archie ran up to my open window.

"You're back!" He said as I opened my door.

"For now, yeah." I sighed. It was oddly depressing to be back here. Riverdale had started to feel like quick sand. Just when you think you'd be able to leave and live your life somewhere else, it pulls you back.

"Betty!" Veronica said excitedly as she ran up the to the truck. "I've got so much to dish on, you have no idea what you missed!" She said grabbing Betty's arm and pulling her inside the diner. Archie and I followed and before I knew it we were back in the same booth ordering milkshakes and burgers. I watched Betty as she leaned forward on her elbows and listened intently to Ronnie tell her all the gory details of the last summer.

"…so after Penelope died, Chery decided she was going to rebuild Thornhill…" I heard Veronica's voice fade out and just watched Betty. He couldn't help just staring at her sometimes. She started moving in slow motion and I remembered that night in Arizona.

 _We'd spent the day driving to the Grand Canyon, and by the time we'd made it the sun was just starting to set. We parked at the rim and climbed up on the front of the truck. I could remember my hands were sweating like crazy and I had a gang of butterflies doing backflips in my stomach. I could feel the small box in my jacket pocket and figured I should ask her before the sun had completely set._

 _"_ _Hey Betts?" I asked quietly next to her._

 _"_ _What?" She said smiling at me. The sun was falling through her hand and dancing on her face._

 _"_ _I've been thinking." I started, suddenly I couldn't remember anything I had wanted to say._

 _"_ _Yeah…?" she said smirking. I stood up and pretended to stretch before turning back around and looking at her._

 _"_ _The last two and a half years with you have probably been the best two and a half years of my life. You've stood by me when everyone else back home didn't. That means a lot to me."_

 _"_ _Because I love you, Jug." She said still smiling. When I made the decision to finally get down my knee her face turned into complete shock. "What are you doing?" She asked her eyes wide._

 _"_ _What does it look like I'm doing?" I shot back sarcastically and smiled at her. I pulled the small box out of my jacket pocket and opened it up. She put a hand over her mouth and her eyes started tearing up.  
"Will you marry be Elizabeth Cooper?" I asked._

 _"_ _Jug." She said again looking almost bewildered and confused. That was a good thing, that meant she wasn't expecting this at all. "I don't even know what to say…"_

 _"_ _Saying 'yes' would be a good start." I said nervously._

 _"_ _Oh! Geez." She said flustered, "of course, Juggie!" She stood up from the hood of the truck and pulled me up from the ground. "yes." She said quietly wrapping her arms around my neck and whispering in my ear. When she pulled away I took the vintage solitaire diamond ring from it's box and put it on her finger._

 _"_ _God, I've been nervous about this since the day we left Riverdale." I said joking._

 _"_ _There's no way in the world I could say 'no'." she giggled._

"Can you believe that, Jug?" I snapped back to the present and saw Archie trying to talk to me.

"You all there, Jug?" he joked.

"Yep. All here." I said trying to stay focused. Betty glanced over at me and smiled as she leaned into my side and put her head on my shoulder.

"I really can't believe it. I never thought I'd be studying music at such a good school." He said in disbelief.

"That's because you're awesome, Arch." Betty said.  
"You look different." Veronica said suddenly to Betty as we were leaving. I could see her narrow her eyes and look us both up and down. "You're not pregnant, are you?" She asked eyeing me, Betty turned bright red.

"It's called exhaustion, Ronnie. We're exhausted and haven't slept in a decent bed since we left." I joked trying to take the heat off of Betty. Ronnie was smart, for all I knew she'd already figured it out. Besides, it was true. To keep the cost down we'd stayed in some pretty gnarly hotels the last few months.

"Uh huh." She said, "I'll see you guys at dinner then." She said grabbing Archie's arm and sauntering off.

"She is far to perceptive." I said as we got back in the truck. "Just to make sure, you're not…right?"

"Pregnant?" She looked at me indignantly. "No!"

"Just double checking." I joked back at her and realized that I had been holding my breath.

Later the evening I was standing in Betty's bathroom trying to do god knows what with my hair. Betty's parents didn't necessarily hate me, but I wasn't exactly what her parents thought she'd 'settle down' with.

"Relax, Juggie." She said from the bathroom doorway. "It's just my parents."

"Exactly, Betts. I think I'm more nervous about telling them, than I was to ask you in the first place." I said putting my beanie back on and deciding to just cover it all up.

"I can tell." She smiled as we headed down the stairs.

Before I knew it, we were back around the Cooper dinner table. Alice and Hal Cooper sat at either end like bookends to the new 'most popular' and 'talked about' family in town. When the Blossom's imploded, they'd taken over the syrup business when Hal brought his lawyers to the Thornhill doorstep. Turned out that he was the next surviving blood relative to the company. Some say that was what caused Penelope to drive her car off a ledge and into Sweetwater river, the same river where her son had been found a couple of years before. Cheryl couldn't wait to be rid of everything that had caused her family so much grief over the years and happily signed away all of her rights to the company. She'd had the only condition of keeping the land at Thornhill to rebuild and try to start living her life again.

They'd added extra room for Archie and Veronica, since Polly and the twins had just recently moved out. As we all took our places at the table I felt a lump forming in my throat. I didn't even realize that Alice was speaking to me until Betty elbowed me in the ribs.

"I'm sorry?" I said snapping out of it.

"The road trip? I assume it was ok, especially since we didn't hear from either of you all summer." She carefully cut her pork chop and placed it in her mouth.

"Oh yeah, it was great!" Betty said jumping to answer her mother. Archie kept looking at me weird from across the table.

"Uh, yeah. We actually got the chance to go up to Canada and spend a few days in Montreal." I said trying to be normal.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you took your passport after all." Hal interjected, sounding like he'd been as out of it as I was. I remember when we left that Betty had an argument with her mother about needing her Passport.

"I loved Montreal when I went Freshman year. The architecture was incredible and I couldn't get over all the cobblestone streets. It's very impressive." Ronnie said. She always knew how to impress parents, friends, teachers…anyone.

"What did you do this summer, Archie?" Alice asked sweetly. You could tell she was still hoping that he'd be the one who would be with her daughter. She had always preferred Archie. Betty had even told me once that she thought part of the reason she'd been so lovesick over Archie half her life was because of her mother.

"I actually went to a summer program in Boston to study music for a few weeks. It was great." He said before an awkward silence fell over the table. Everyone had just about finished their dinner when Betty spoke up again.

"Mom?" she asked to get her attention, "Dad?"

"Hm?" Her mother said without really looking up from her last few green beans.

"Jug and I have some news…" she said slowly. _Here we go, prepare for the wrath of Alice Cooper._

"I knew it!" Veronica blurted out before she quietly sat back and looked slightly embarrassed by her giddiness.

"We're engaged." I said nervously as Betty held her hand up for her mom to see. She grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed. Archie started laughing to himself, probably at the fact that I looked like I was going to throw up from the nerves. Her mother took her hand and started inspecting the ring on her daughter's finger.

"Oh!" Alice said surprised. "Well, that's _not_ what I was expecting you to say." She said clearing her throat and standing up from the table. "I guess I should at least be happy that you didn't get knocked up like your sister."

Her response immediately made me go from nervous to furious. I had expected her to not approve, but I didn't expect her to be so condescending while she was at it. Just as I was about to finally say something I was probably going to regret, Hal spoke up from his bored silence at the other end of the table.

"Congratulations." Hal said smiling.

"Thanks, Mr. Cooper." I said trying to smile and enjoy that at least her father wasn't kicking my ass. Veronica and Archie were awkwardly sitting on the other side of the table looking at each other and back at us.

"Don't thank me, Jughead. It's great news, but I don't think that's going to be happening." He said standing up and walking into the kitchen after Alice.

"What just happened?" Archie asked quizzically. I saw Betty's face change from excitement, to shock, to disappointment in a matter of seconds. That was the last thing I needed to see, they weren't going to treat her that way and get away with it.

"Mr. Cooper." I said slightly louder than I expected to be.

"This isn't up for discussion, Jughead." He said still angry.

"With all do respect Mr. Cooper, that's bullshit." I said leaning forward on the table.

"Excuse me?" Alice said coming from the kitchen with her arms crossed.

"You heard me." I said starting to ball my fists. "The last time I checked, we didn't need your permission." I could see that Hal was trying to think of something to say. Veronica looked at me trying to not show the pride she felt in someone speaking their mind.

"I said you're not marrying my daughter. That's the end of it." Hal said again.

"Dad…" Betty tried to say, but I stopped her.

"No, Betts. Mr. Cooper, I know I've never been the guy you saw your daughter ending up with." I said sternly, "I know that in high school I didn't have a lot going for me and I've never exactly had a family name that I could be proud of." I saw him try again to say something but I stood up. "Your daughter has changed everything for me, and she's changed me into someone I look back on and be proud of. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have this scholarship to NYU. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be going to college at all." I felt my eyes start to sting and I tried my best to keep it together, I could see Veronica and Archie looking proud. At least they thought I was doing the right thing, because I wasn't sure I was. "Your daughter saved me, Mr. Cooper, and there's nothing you can really say or do to make me love her any less than I do. She's believed in me, pushed me, and made me who I am, and I'm not about to ever let that go." I said a single tear coming down my cheek as I stalked out of the room and out the front door. I could hear Betty behind me as I got outside and got in the truck.

"Where are you going, Jug?" She asked her eyes red and her mascara was starting to run down her face.

"Anywhere." I said putting both hands on the wheel, I needed to get out of here. I was starting to feel like just being in Riverdale was starting to suffocate me. Betty came around the other side of the truck and opened the door.

"What are you doing?" I said looking at her exhausted.

"Going with you." She said sitting down and closing the door.

"No you're not, Betts. Not tonight." I said quietly staring at the steering wheel.

"They'll get over it, Juggie. We can come back tomorrow and talk with them."

"I think it's probably going to take longer than a few hours for them to calm down." She sighed loudly and moved to the center of the bench seat. She put a hand on my face and turned my head towards her. She had one of those determined looks she gets when she knows she's right.

"Nothing they say is ever going to change how I feel about you. Not my parents, and certainly not this town. Did you mean all those things you said in there? What you said to my dad?" She asked.

"Of course, I did Betts. You know that." I said afraid to make direct eye contact with her.

"Then that's all I need to know. Go to your dad's trailer for tonight. I'll stay here tonight and maybe I can talk some sense into my mom."  
"What if you can't." I said not wanting to think about any other possibilities.

"Then we're eighteen. We will go to college, plan a wedding, and make sure everyone we love can be there for it." She kissed me and as usual it instantly made my cynical nature feel more optimistic about everything. "I'll see you in the morning, ok?" She said as she backed up and got out of the truck.

"Betts?"

"What?"

"I love you." I said quietly to her.

"I love you too, Juggie." She smiled and went back into the house.


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up early the next morning I could hear Betty trying to not cry behind me. She sniffed loudly and I rolled over and put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Everything ok?" I asked quietly, she shook her head and the tears started rolling down her cheeks. It broke my heart to hear her so upset, and to know her parents were the cause of it upset me even more. I pulled the comforter up and wrapped her up in between me and the blanket. She started crying into my chest, her shoulders heaving with ragged breaths between the sobs. We stayed like that for an hour or so before she had completely exhausted herself of any hurt, anger, frustration and pain that was in her system. She had reached a point where she was crying and she didn't even have any more tears. It made me think for a split second that maybe I was holding her back, maybe I was just someone she'd eventually get tired of before settling down with someone else. I shook those thought from my head and tried to be more positive. I had lived a majority of my life without much of a family, I was used to it. I knew how it felt at Thanksgiving and Christmas when you were alone, but Betty didn't. I knew I had to talk to the Coopers again and try to make them understand what they were going to lose if they let Betty just walk away from them.

"When did you get here? I didn't even hear you come in." I asked when her breathing finally started to even back out.

"My parents kept arguing in their bedroom about everything, I just repacked my bag and came here."

"You should have called me, I could have come to get you." I said still waking up.

"I needed the fresh air, besides, I missed you." She said pressing her forehead and my chest and letting out a contented sigh and one last sniff. "I missed our cocoon time." She joked.

"Oh well, that changes things." I joked back wrapping her up in a bear hug. She smiled and we both ended up falling back asleep until there was a loud knock on the door. We weren't used our alone time being interrupted, another joy of being back in Riverdale. I slowly untangled myself from Betty and sleepily walked to the door. Veronica chirped a hello and Kevin Keller followed closely behind her as they invited themselves in.

"Can I help you?" I said pulling a shirt over my head and fixing my beanie.

"Wow, Jones, you bulked up since high school." Kevin stated blatantly looking me up and down.

"Stop hitting on my future husband, Kevin!" I head Betty said excitedly from the back of the trailer. She ran towards Kevin and wrapped him in a hug. I could feel the blush in my cheeks.

"I filled him in on all the details." Veronica said before sitting down with a black leather organizer that was filled to the brim. Kevin set down the white food bag on the coffee table as the three of them sat around it. My mouth started watering when they started pulling out my favorite breakfast sandwiches from Pops.  
"Heads up, Jug!" Kevin said short before throwing two of the sandwiches my way. If there was one thing I missed over Riverdale, it would be the cheeseburgers…and breakfast sandwiches. As Veronica went into detail explaining what she'd brought I quietly exited the trailer and wen to meet Archie down at the river.

When I got there he already had his jeep pulled off the road and was leaning against it messing with his phone. He certainly didn't look like the same kid that I remembered when I left. His letterman jacket was replaced with a black leather biker jacket and his once dark wash cuffed jeans had been replaced with ones torn at the knees and heavy black combat boots. When I pulled up he shoved his phone in his jacket and we started down one of the trails to the river's edge.

"I seriously can't wait to get to Boston." He said as we hiked.

"I seriously can't believe you got into one of the top musical conservatories in the country." I said joking as we made it to the edge and sat down on two large boulders.

"So much has changed in the last few years." He said reminiscing. "My 14-year-old self wouldn't have any clue as to who the hell I am now. I would have thought I'd be playing football, going to business school, and taking over my dad's company." He said picking the weeds at his feet. His dad had tried to keep Andrews Construction going, but after the shooting at Pop's his health hadn't been the best and he passed away a few months later. His mom had moved back from Chicago to help the family out, they didn't want to pull Archie out of high school his junior year.

"My 14-year-old self wouldn't have thought I'd actually be going to college on a full scholarship, and _definitely_ didn't think I'd be engaged to Betty Cooper." I laughed looking out at the lake.

"Ha! I don't think my 14-year-old self would have believed you would be marrying Betty Cooper either." He laughed out loud as I punched him the shoulder. "I'm kidding! We all saw it, Jug. The second we all found out you were together it all made sense."

"Hey Arch, I know it's kind of early to ask you and all…but I am gonna eventually need a best man." I said looking up at him. I had no idea why I was nervous, if he said no for any reason, I would have to possibly ask Pop Tate and that could lead to some very awkward situations trying to explain exactly how much I loved his cheeseburgers to our wedding guests.

"No. I don't think I can, Jug." He said without even looking at me, then he looked at me sideways and a huge smile broke across his face. "HELL YEAH!" He said excitedly. I took a deep breath as the flashes of Pop in his chef uniform handing me rings subsided.

"Don't ever do that to me again." I said looking back down the river. There had been a memorial set up just down from where Jason's body had been found. "Is that new?" I asked pointing to the gaudy stone memorial covered in flowers.

"Oh yeah. Cheryl decided to set that up not too long after her mom drove off the cliff over there." Archie said as I stood up and walked over to it.

"How is she coping these days?" I asked remembering the person she'd been back in school. As a freshman, she had a twin brother, two parents, and a grandmother. She had started out as wanting nothing more than to be the one girl in school that everyone had feared, the girl who had it all and then some. By the time she graduated she was taking most of her classes from home and to top it all off, she hadn't even attended graduation.

"She's pretty much a recluse." Archie said kneeling next to me. "You'll see her around town every once in a while. She really gives off weird vibes. I feel like she's turned into the weird cat lady that lives in the big spooky mansion...except the big spooky mansion burned down and as far I know, she has no cats." He finished.

"Betty and I saw on the way in that someone was actually rebuilding over that way." I said standing up.

"Yep, that's her. Can't blame her for wanting to try and rebuild her life." He said shrugging his shoulders and standing up next to me. "She's apparently going away for college, but no one has been able to figure out where. Veronica and Kevin apparently had a contest over the summer to see who could figure it out first, they never got very far with it. Short of walking up to her front door, there's not exactly news on the street about it."

I walked back over the boulders and sat back down. "How's your mom doing?" I asked knowing I was bringing up a sore subject.

"She's doing better. She officially moved her law practice here about a month ago, so that keeps her busy. I think she was surprised how many people in Riverdale needed a good lawyer." The smiled slowly faded from his face and he put his elbows out on his knees. "I still don't think I've come to terms with what happened that night."  
"Me either. I can't believe they never arrested anyone for it." I said shaking my head.

"Yeah…" he said quietly, I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

Archie and I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon just hanging out and catching up. I told him about all the places we went and he told me about all the things he'd done in Boston. I could tell from the way he spoke about Veronica that they were more now than they were when Betty and I left. They had dated before, but it was always a brief and 'no strings attached' kind of thing.

When I finally made it back to the trailer the sun was starting to set and the heat of the day was starting to dissipate. I made my way up the stairs and when I opened the door, Betty was in the small kitchen. She didn't hear me as I came in and she was humming to herself, earbuds in both ears. The room smelled like nothing I had ever had the pleasure of smelling before. I walked up behind her and kissed her neck and effectively scare the living daylight out of her. I laughed loudly as she hit me with a pot holder.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said smiling.

"What on earth smells so good?" I asked as I tried to lift the lid of one of the pans on the stove.

"Don't touch that!" She said laughing and trying to pull me away.

"Please tell me that's dinner." I asked not taking my eyes off of the pan.

"Yes, Juggie, that's dinner." She said sweetly rolling her eyes. I leaned back against the counter behind her and watched her as she cooked. This whole domestic thing was new. It further confirmed in my mind that she was my soulmate. There was a feeling of happiness that bubbled up in my chest as I watched her. She turned around and noticed that I'd been staring.

"What?" She asked, her eyes suddenly widening thinking something was wrong with me.

"Nothing, I'm just realizing that you're actually cooking me dinner for the first time." I said smiling.

"I've cooked for you before." She said stirring what was in the pan.

"Ah, but that was breakfast, and your mother was there. Dinner is an entirely different menu of delicacies to consume, it's also a completely different time of day. Also, your mom isn't here." I said trying to sound intelligent.

"Well, I really hope you're hungry because I made entirely too much food." She said looking at the pans.

"Betts. It's me you're talking to. I'm always hungry." I said kissing her on the forehead.

A few hours later dinner was demolished and everything was piled in the sink. We finally got time alone to sit down on the couch and watch _Rebel Without a Cause_. Ever since it was the last movie played at the Drive-In it had been a go to movie for us, that and _An American Werewolf in Paris_. Which had been one of our first movie dates, a double feature that happened on the birthday, and also went on record for being the birthday from hell. She had her head in my lap and her laptop was shining brightly in front of us.

"How was your day with Veronica and Kevin?" I asked.

"Long. Veronica has these crazy ideas for decking everything out." She said half-heartedly, I could sense that something was wrong. I was just hoping she didn't have second thoughts.

"What happened?" I asked brushing her hair back and rubbing her head absent mindedly.

"Nothing really," she said sitting up and putting her head on my shoulder. "It's just I have no idea how we're going to pay for anything. We just used all of our savings for the road trip." I could tell that she had probably already planned everything in head, and I knew that we probably couldn't even afford the courthouse at this point.

"We have time to save some more money up, don't worry about it." I said trying to ease her mind.

"Yeah I guess you're right." She said, and with that she kissed me on the cheek as the credits rolled.

I made a mental note to do whatever job I could to make sure she had everything she wanted and more. After all, it was Betty, and she deserved it.


	3. Chapter 3

We had exactly two more weeks before we packed everything we owned and made our way to New York. Betty had talked Pop in letting her work at the diner to save up what little money we could. She was working ten hour shifts and when she was home, she was sleeping. I kept trying to find work in town, but with the end of summer being so close, no one was hiring. I had spent all summer sending out my manuscript about the Blossom murder and still hadn't had anyone want to publish it. I had been so sure when I wrote the last few sentences that it was worth a publisher's time. The sensationalized story of a real-life Romeo and Juliet. Where Romeo was murdered by his own father and Juliet was left pregnant with his child. Now I wasn't so sure, maybe I should have listened to my dad when he wondered why I chose the Blossom case for my first literary work.

I made my way outside and sat on the wooden steps that led to the front door. The heat of the summer was starting to make it's retreat and the sun was low in the sky. It wasn't long before I could see the familiar Cooper station wagon coming down the drive. I felt my insides start to tighten as the car got closer. I wasn't expecting Polly to be the one that got out.

"Hey Jug!" She said chipper.

"Hey Polly." I said politely smiling, "Betty's at the diner." I said, certain that she was not here for me.

"I know. I'm here to see you." She said sitting down next to me. "I heard the good news."

"Yeah, I guess it's good. Depending on who you are."

"I heard my mom and dad didn't take it so well." She replied.

"You could say that. Why exactly are you here?" I asked her again completely confused.

"Because I realized that I don't know much about you. You've always been Betty's boyfriend, Jughead. I figured if you're going to marry my sister, I need to know more about you. My roommate is watching the twins, thought I'd come over and we could just chat."

"How are the Blossom-Cooper twins these days?" I asked. They were good kids, despite the tumultuous family ties they may have.

"They're in their terrible twos. A lot of tantrums and a lot of time outs." She laughed, "Jason looks more and more like his dad every single day." She said looking wistfully off into the distance. "And Lizzy's hair just keeps getting more and more red." She smiled.

"That's cool." I said at a loss for words. Polly had just always been Betty's older sister, we'd never really had a relationship beyond just being polite to each other.

"I saw the ring, Jug. I've never seen anything that fit Betty so perfectly." She smiled.

"It's ok, Polly. You don't have to pretend to be interested…Really, it's ok." I said moving to stand up.

"Nuh uh." She said pulling me back down by my jacket. "I want to know more about my soon to be brother-in-law. It'll be painless, I promise." She joked before clearing her throat.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a question and you give me the first thing that comes to your mind. Ok?"

"Okay…" I said not sure of what was coming next. I didn't like talking about myself, not even to Betty.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Blue." I responded.

"Hmm…." She said narrowing her eyes and looking at me.

"What do you mean 'Hmm…?'" I asked narrowing my eyes back at her.

"I would have guess black or gray." She said thinking for a moment.

"If you must know, Betty's eyes are blue." I said feeling a flush come up my face.

"Ah…Now that makes sense. Favorite food?"  
"Easy. Burgers, especially the kind with everything on them. There was this one we tried in California, it had a fried egg on top. It was pure bliss. Betty couldn't even finish hers it was so big." I stopped there realizing I was going on a burger tangent.

"Ok. Best friend? Besides Betty."

"Archie." That was an easy one.

"If you had all the money in the world, and you had an opportunity to do anything you wanted, what would it be?"

"Geez, Polly. I'm supposed to come up with that right away?" I asked surprised.

"I'll give you a minute." She laughed.

"Have your father's blessing to marry his daughter." I whispered looking down at my shoes.

""Oooh, good answer, Casanova." Polly mused, "Last question. Where do you see yourself in fifty years?" That one was easy.

"The night after I proposed, Betty had said that she could see us sitting in rocking chairs on the porch of a big white house, watching our grandkids playing in the yard. That's where I want to be…with her and our family." I remembered, I wasn't able to help the smile that broke across my face just thinking of us being happy. Fifty years down the road it wouldn't matter what her parents had said the night we announced our engagement. I could see it being the family joke around the dinner table with our kids.

"Well, you passed." She smiled.

"Oh, well thanks." I said joking back. "I just hope that I can give her that big white house. Right now I can't even afford rent on this trailer. It's a good thing my dad owns it."

"You will, Jughead. You're still so young. High school may be over, but you still have some time before you need to worry about buying the big white house. OK?" Polly smiled at me. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, but it wasn't working. Just as Polly was getting up to leave Betty came walking down the drive. She looked exhausted, the front of her apron covered in various remnants of food and grease. Her hair was pulled back in her signature pony tail and she looked to have lost a few pounds just since I'd seen her last night. She was staring at the ground and didn't even realize that Polly was here until she almost walked into her.

"Oh! Polly! What are you doing here?" She said smiling and trying not to look as down trodden as she did moments ago.

"I just stopped by to talk to Jughead. I just wanted to make sure his intentions are pure." She smiled sarcastically. "I have to go; the twins are probably wanting dinner." She kissed her on the forehead and gave her a hug before she got back into the car and drove away.

"Are you ok?" I asked her, noticing that she wasn't her usual self. She nodded her head and gave me a tight smile. It was obvious that she wasn't, but I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't tell me.

"Betts…" I said grabbing her elbow just before she went inside. That was when her entire façade cracked. She stood there with tears streaming down her face. "What happened?"

"Pops had to let me go." She said going inside and sitting on the couch. "He said my parents threatened to have him shut down. He didn't have a choice." Her entire face was covered in tears that reflected off her face in the dim sunlight coming in through the windows.

"Once we get out of Riverdale, Betts, it'll get better. It'll be like it was this summer. Just you and me." I said putting my arms around her and rubbing her head. She silently nodded her head.

"I wish we could leave tomorrow. I don't know if I can do another two weeks. My parents are systematically taking everything that they can from me, just to prove they still can. I'm so tired of it." She sighed as she walked over to the kitchen and started to make dinner.

"Hey. You don't have to do that Betty." I said feeling even worse that after getting fired she felt like she had to make me dinner on top of it.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked looking confused.

"Of course, I am. I'm always hungry, but I can find something to eat. You're exhausted."

"No really, it's ok." She said nodding to herself as she kept looking through the cupboards.

"Betty…If you're having second thoughts about this…about us…I understand…" I said quietly. I knew this day would come eventually. The day where she would decide that things were too hard. She was determined and stubborn, but when everything you try to do goes wrong…it can break a person down. When we had first started dating I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but then over time I forgot about it and just focused on how happy she made me. It wasn't until the last few days that the feeling had come back. The feelings of inadequacy and self-deprecation were freely flowing through my mind.

"You think I'm going to give up that easily, Juggie?" She said looking at me, her eyes were wide and filled with concern. "Have a little more faith in me than that."

"I do, Betty. It just bothers me to see you so unhappy. If I was Archie or anyone else from Riverdale High, your parents would have hugged us and congratulated us the other night…" I said leaning against the back counter with my arms crossed across my chest.

"Jughead Jones. I'm only going to tell you this once." She said feigning seriousness and trying her hardest not to smile.

"I don't want anyone else. I don't care if they had all the money in the world. We could live in a carboard box outside of Pop's and I would be happy because I was with you. You're everything to me, and if I never speak to them again…it may be too soon. I don't know that I can forgive them for treating me this way. They pushed Polly away, and now it's my turn."

I felt my cheeks flush as I broke eye contact with her and she stood there in her Pop's uniform. I moved quickly and grabbed her around the waist and put her over my shoulder. She let out a loud squeal as I took her back towards our room.

"Put me down, Jughead Jones!" She said loudly, as our laughter filled the trailer.  
"Never!" I yelled shutting the bedroom door behind me.

Later that night, I couldn't sleep. I rolled over onto my side and watched Betty. Her soft even breathing was the only thing I could hear and she was wrapped up in the sheets. It reminded me of the first time we'd ever been together.

 _It was the last day of junior year and I had everything set. Her parents were going to be out of town for the entire weekend at a conference upstate. If anyone deserved the amount of planning I had been doing for the past two weeks, it was Betty. I'd rented a small cabin at the edge of Sweetwater River. I had picked up her favorite chocolate shake and French fries from Pop's. I skipped the rose petals, they felt too generic. I borrowed white Christmas lights from Archie and strung them around the single room of the cabin making sure the glow was just right. I had Archie record some instrumental guitar stuff that I could play in the background and I had made sure that Polly knew that Betty wouldn't be home that night._

 _I picked her up in my dad's green truck and we drove down the cabin. She had her window open and her hair was blowing in wind. It was almost like slow motion when I glanced at her. She had her head leaned towards the window and a huge grin on her face as her hair whipped around her. She'd traded her usual cardigans and button-up for an olive-green tank top and dark wash jeans. She had cried when she saw what I had done to the small room. We ended up eating dinner in bed with our half-melted milkshakes. That was the night when I realized that nothing calmed me like Betty did. Watching her sleep that night had felt like a privilege, I felt like I was the luckiest guy in the world._

As the memory slowly faded I felt my eyelids get heavy, I moved over to her and wrapped my arms around her before finally falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

What happened next was something I didn't expect. We were T minus twelve hours, on heading to New York. Polly had gone to her parents and urged them to meet with Betty and I to discuss the engagement. So, here we were, sitting once again around this cursed dinner table. I was regretting wearing this stupid tie. It was as if I could feel it slowly choking the life out of me as I sat there rigid. Betty and I both had not really wanted to come to this dinner, but we figured that we should respect Polly and go anyway.

"Thanks for having us over, Dad." Betty said breaking the heavy, awkward silence that hung over the table.

"Mmhm." He mumbled, "Thank your sister. She seems to think that all of this is a good idea."

"Let's just jump to the chase." Alice Cooper said as she set her fork down and brought her elbows up on the table.

"Mom." Polly said quietly, almost as if she was reminding her that she wouldn't just tear the two of us to shreds.

"You have to understand, Jughead. Our family now has a reputation to uphold. We can't just send out wedding invitations with the name 'Jughead Jones' printed across the top. You have to understand the appearances that we must keep up with." She said smiling so sweetly it made me sick.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Cooper. I have a tough time believing my name is the only issue you have with me." I said trying not to get upset. I owed it to Betty to keep a cool head and try to make them understand.

"Hal and I have worked very hard to make sure that our daughters had only the best. I need to make sure that we continue to do that. I just don't feel that you're the best fit for Betty. She's a hard worker, she's bright, and professional. You're from the south side Jughead. That's not a legacy that we can have in our family tree." She finished.

"What are you even talking about, Mom?" Betty piped up eyes wide. " _You're_ from the south side! You're being such a hypocrite!"

"While Alice's reasons may be a bit more… _selfish_. I'm just worried that you may not be able to provide my daughter with everything she needs. I don't want her living in that trailer park for the rest of her life." Hal stated calmly.

"I don't want her to live there for the rest of her life either." I said looking him straight in the eye.

"How do you plan to make that happen?" He said going back to his dinner.

"I've started sending out my manuscript about the Blossom murder. If that doesn't pan out with any publishers, I plan to get a job in New York and start saving all the money I can. I'm not going to just sit back and wait for things to come to me if that's what you're getting at." I said trying to make him understand that I did have plan.

"How do you plan to take a full course load and work a job as well?" Alice asked me, apparently she decided to play along with Hal.

"The same way as any other college student, with very little sleep." I said trying to make a joke, Betty and Polly stifled their laughter.

"Should we give you our permission, and I'm not saying that we are. Should we decide to do that, how long are you planning on being engaged before getting married? I believe that your mother and I are concerned that you may be jumping into things."

"We haven't decided, Dad. We're not in a huge rush. We have so much going on, we might just wait until after graduation. Who knows? Besides, we've been together for almost three years, I'd say we're not rushing much of anything." She said looking at me for approval.

"I assume that you're sexually active?" Alice asked popping a piece of meat into her mouth.

"Oh god." Betty said her entire face turning red as Polly almost choked on the food in her mouth. I spit the water in my mouth out from the shock and instantly I felt myself slide down a bit in my chair, wanting to disappear. I was not about to discuss my extracurricular activities with Mr. and Mrs. Cooper's daughter.

"I don't think that really matters...does it?" I said my voice cracking slightly.

"Yes, it does. Polly here thought she'd run away and have grand adventures with that Blossom boy after he knocked her up. I can't have Betty trying to do the same." She said looking me in the eye. She knew this was making me entirely too uncomfortable, she was enjoying it.

"The two situations are completely different, Mom. You know that." Polly said trying to change the topic.

"Not so much, Polly." Hal interrupted. "I'm interested to hear the answer to your mother's question."  
"Dad. We're in a committed relationship. I graduated high school, _with honors_ , might I add. Yes, we have."

"Are you pregnant? Is that why you proposed, Jughead?"

"WHY does EVERYONE think I'm pregnant?!" Betty said loudly from the other side of the table.

"Because you're a pretty girl in a small town, who's engaged to her high school boyfriend at eighteen." Polly said sarcastically. "Been there, done that." She said taking her napkin from her lap and placing it over her plate. "Stop comparing her to me, Mom. It's not fair to Betty, or Jughead. Who I rather like." She smiled, "I'd be very happy to have him as part of the family." She said getting up and grabbing her plate. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Lizzie and Jason are waiting at home for me."

"Mr. Cooper? Mrs. Cooper?" I asked tentatively, the last time that I'd asked for their attention they had torn me to bits.

"What is it, Jughead?" Alice asked, I was confused by the fact that she actually looked interested.

"I've done nothing but beat myself up over the last few weeks. Wondering why no matter what I do with my life, you will never be pleased. I've spent a lot of time wondering why the fact that I love Betty more than anything in this world isn't enough for you. Watching her work so hard these few weeks at the diner, and then feeling like she should take care of me on top of that...I'm sorry that I'm not from a wealthy family. I'm sorry that my dad is serving time. I'm sorry that I'm not who you imagined your daughter being with." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Betty has always been a bright spot in my life that I could gravitate towards when everything else was grayed out. I don't know if you think I'm wanting to marry her for the money or the social status, but those things don't matter to me. What does matter to me is that Betty doesn't lose her family like I've lost mine." I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes, but I tried to fight them off the best I could. "Over the years, I watched my mother leave my father, then take my sister to Ohio, and then I watched my dad be hauled off to prison. I want to make something of life. I don't want to be another one of Riverdale's tragedies. I want to make a life with your daughter that you both can be proud of. I want us to build a life together that we both can be proud of. I want to prove to myself that I don't have to be a product of my raising, and I don't have to stay a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. I love Betty with all of my heart and I don't want her to be alone on her wedding day because her parents are holding a grudge against a guy that loves their daughter and wants to treat her well." I finished. Betty looked at me across the table and smiled, before either of her parents could speak Betty started talking.

"I need you both to understand something. Jughead may have started out as a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, but that's not who he is anymore. He's not his father, mom. _**He is not FP**_ _._ " She said pointing at me, "He is not that boy in high school that broke your heart before you met dad."

"Betts…" I started to say, but she held a hand up. She didn't have to defend me, this was the other shoe dropping. This was when her parents forbid her from seeing me and when all the memories I had of her would remain just that, memories.

"Just stop. Both of you." Hal said sitting up straighter in his seat. "You have a trial basis, Jones." He said wiping his mouth and setting his napkin back down.

"I do?" I said shocked, I wasn't expecting that.

"You have three months starting tomorrow morning. Show me you can provide for my daughter, show me you can balance school and a full-time job. Then we will re-visit this discussion." He said.

"You mean part-time and school, right?" I said confused.

"You said part-time, I'm saying full-time. Do you want the offer or not?" He said.

"Of course, Mr. Cooper. I can do that." I said trying not to get too excited. He could have asked me to go on a hunger strike for three weeks. I would have done it if it meant that I could have a chance to gain his blessing.

As we walked out to the car, Betty and I didn't even know what to say to each other. We both sat in the cab of the truck in silence, neither of us sure what exactly to say.

"Looks like you've got a rough three months, Jones." She said slightly smiling at me.

"I can do it." I said. Of course, I was happy with the opportunity, but how was I going to handle five classes, homework, and now forty hours a week? I could already feel my heart start to race and my palms sweat. I'd worked so hard in my last years of high school to actually make it to college. To keep my scholarship, I needed at least a 3.5 GPA or I would be dropped from the program.

"We haven't picked out classes yet. Maybe you'd be able to get night classes? Work during the day and then take your classes at night? Do your homework on the weekends. It's doable, people do it all the time." She said putting a hand on my arm as I started the truck.

"I know. I think I'm just in shock." I said still not being able to shake the feeling that Hal might be messing with me. "I felt like even if I did everything right, he still would find a reason to keep us apart." I said gripping the wheel as we drove down the driveway.

"We will go through the class schedule together and we will figure something out. Maybe if I work too we can trick my dad into thinking you were full time."

"No, Betty. He has a point. I need to show that I can take care of you. Just let me try to prove that to him, ok?" I said.

"Whatever you say, Juggie." She said scooting over on the bench seat of the truck and putting her head on my shoulder. My mind was racing as we drove down the road, slowly passing through streetlights and stop signs. _You can do this, Jug. You might only have to keep this up Freshman year. Only long enough to prove to Mr. Cooper that you can do this. Just a year. Then you'll get married and finish school, and then move on. You can do this, Jug. You've already proven so many people wrong by graduating with honors. This is just another bump in the road._


End file.
